Quake jolts Delhi and surrounding areas, 5 injured

An earthquake of moderate intensity shook Delhi and some areas in its neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh this afternoon, but there was no reports of damage to life or property.

The tremors, measuring 4.9 on the Richter Scale with Haryana's Bahadurgarh as the epicentre, shook the region at 1:11 PM, pulling panic-stricken people out of their homes and offices.

Officials said there was a low probability of aftershocks given the low intensity of the quake. Image courtesy Google Maps

The tremors were felt for less than ten seconds.

"The intensity was 4.9 and the epicentre was Bahadurgarh, Delhi-Haryana Border," a senior MeT official said.

However, the US Geological Survey pegged the magnitude of the quake at 5.2 on the Richter Scale.

CNN-IBN reported that five people were injured in Uklana in Haryana, while some buildings suffered damage in Hisar.

MeT officials said that since the tremors were of relatively less intensity it was unliklely there would be any aftershocks.

Besides Bahadurgarh, the tremors were felt in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Hisar and Bhiwani in Haryana. Some places in Punjab also experienced the tremors.

Initial reports reaching Chandigarh said that panic-stricken people rushed out of their homes and workplaces soon after the tremors.

The tremors were also felt in Ghaziabad, Noida and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.

Mohan Singh, a resident of sector 21 in Noida, said the quake shook the fans and chandeliers of his house.

In the desert state of Rajasthan, slight tremors were felt in Jaipur and Alwar districts. A total of 19 tremors have shaken various parts of the country this year.

Office buildings in business areas of Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida were evacuated as the tremors were felt. Television channels showed people standing around in the compounds of their office buildings as they waited to be informed it was safe to return.

People also vacated their houses in large numbers as the tremors were felt.

According to the Seismic Zone Mapping done by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Delhi is among 30 cities in the country falling in zone IV, which is defined as a severe intensity seismic zone.

This is the third tremor in Delhi, which is among the 30 cities which fall in the high risk seismic zone, since September last year.

Tremors were felt in the capital on September 18 last year following an earthquake with an intensity of 6.8 on the Richter Scale having its epicentre near Sikkim-Nepal border.

On September seven last year, an earthquake of 4.2 on Richter Scale with Haryana's Sonepat as epicentre, had rocked the capital.